


Bridging the Gap

by foghaslifted



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Height Differences, no big plot just love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foghaslifted/pseuds/foghaslifted
Summary: Eugene is a few inches taller than Rapunzel, so Rapunzel likes to find ways to reach his height easier.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	Bridging the Gap

**Author's Note:**

> just something quick and fluffy :) i swear i'll write something with an actual plot soon
> 
> (ps there's a slight Brooklyn 99 reference in here if you can find it hehe)

Eugene was taller than Rapunzel. It was never really a problem, it’s just a few inches. She didn’t really mind the height difference, sometimes she even liked it. It made it a lot easier for him to rest his arm on her, or for her to lay her head on his shoulder.

The problem was it added a slight obstacle for when they wanted to kiss. Most of the time, they got around it with her standing on her tiptoes and/or pulling him down to her height, but she just thought it was a bit of a nuisance.

She mentioned this to him one time, thinking he probably noticed the same thing. “It’s like it’s just enough of a gap that it’s noticeable, right?” she said to him after explaining her thoughts.

“I guess I’ve never really thought about it,” he shrugged. “I mean, I’m taller than you, but not unbearably so, right?”

“Yeah, it’s just a little hindrance I guess, there’s not really any way around it.”

When she said that, he immediately started smirking like he had an idea. She knew it was the same face that he made whenever he was about to do something sneaky. Before she could even make a comment about it, in one motion he swept her off her feet and started holding her bridal style. She beamed as he leaned in so their foreheads were touching.

“See? Easy fix, we’re at the same eye level now,” he grinned charismatically. She threw her hands around his neck and kissed him.

“Easy fix,” she repeated, giggling.

After that, they had made a point of finding different ways to cross the height gap. Once she found out a Corona Law Book was just about the same height as the difference between them, she was able to use it as a step stool to reach him (“Finally, that book is being used for something good,” Eugene had commented).

There was one way to break the gap, though, that as much as it worked out, she hated it.

They had been living in the castle for a couple months, and her dad was planning to throw a ball. At first, she was ecstatic. She was so excited to get to meet so many new friends! That was until she realized what she was expected to wear.

“I don’t understand how anyone does this,” she mumbled, clinging onto Eugene’s arm for dear life. He chuckled. 

“I don’t know, Blondie, personally I’ve never really been a high heels guy either.” 

“How am I supposed to balance? Whoever invented these shoes has to understand how impractical they are,” she complained. “Normal shoes are bad enough, why add the need to balance yourself while you wear them?” She tried to take a step forward, then immediately started falling forwards.

“Whoa, you alright?” Eugene asked as he shifted to catch her before she fell on the ground. 

She straightened up and nodded. “How am I going to do this all night?” she asked dejectedly.

“Hey, that’s what we’re practicing for, right? Once you can make it around your room in these, you’ll be able to do anything!”

She sighed. Her mom had given her tips for walking in high heels, like where to shift her weight and how to center her balance, but applying the tips was proving to be a lot more difficult than she anticipated. Slowly, still holding onto Eugene, she took another step. This time, though, she didn’t fall! She apprehensively started taking more steps.

“Look at that, you’re a natural!” Eugene celebrated.

“I still won’t be able to do anything without holding onto you, though,” Rapunzel laughed.

He shrugged. “Honestly, Sunshine, I think I get the best end of this deal. I have an excuse to keep the prettiest girl in the room right next to me all night.” Rapunzel blushed and rolled her eyes.

“Hey, on the bright side, we’re almost the same height now,” she pointed out. “It makes it a lot easier to do this.” She grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him. She smiled as they forgot about the task at hand, both of them melting into each other for a few seconds. 

“Well, thank god for high heels, huh?” he joked as they pulled apart. 

*

Even though she loved being the same height as him with her heels, she would much rather need to reach his height in a different way than spend any more time than she needed to in those shoes. Which is why she was delighted to find other fun ways to kiss him than that.

“Listen, Raps, I just can’t trust Eugene with something like this,” Cass said. Rapunzel had just gotten her hair back because of the black rocks, and Cass didn’t want her to tell Eugene what happened. Rapunzel understood where she was coming from, but that didn’t mean she agreed with it. She knew Eugene wouldn’t tell anyone a secret this big. He had been able to keep his name a secret for years, he would easily be able to keep this secret.

“Come on, Cass, I trust Eugene with my life, he can handle one secret,” she responded.

Cass shook her head. “I know you trust him, but I don’t. Just, please, don’t tell him,” she begged. Rapunzel sighed.

“Fine, I won’t say anything. But I think you’ve got him all wrong,” she insisted. Cass raised an eyebrow as Rapunzel continued. “I’m serious, if I were to run and jump at him I guarantee he would catch me.”

As if on cue, Eugene opened the door. “Hey, Blondie, I-” he started, then stopped himself as he saw Rapunzel running towards him. 

“Eugene, catch!” She threw herself onto him, and he caught her as she did. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her arms on his shoulders. His hands were on her waist, keeping her steady to make sure they wouldn’t both fall over.

“Well, hey there,” Eugene mused. She beamed back at him and touched their foreheads together.

“Hi,” she responded quietly, feeling like they were the only people in the world for a moment. They stayed in that position for a bit, smiling at each other, neither of them needing to say anything.

“Oh, give me a break,” Cass scoffed, rolling her eyes. They ignored her as she left the room. 

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having you in my arms this morning?” Eugene asked teasingly. 

“I wanted to prove to Cass that I could trust you,” she explained. He sighed. Ever since Rapunzel had gotten her hair back, Cass hadn’t been keeping it a secret that she didn’t trust Eugene. He (almost) didn’t even care what the actual secret they were keeping was, he was just mad that it was being kept from him.

“You can always trust me, Sunshine,” he said, looking her in the eye. “I promise I’d never lie to you or do anything to hurt you.”

Rapunzel gave him a soft smile, then started smirking. “‘There it is, the Snuggly Duckling. Very quaint place, perfect for someone like you,’” she quoted, mocking his voice. 

He laughed, rolling his eyes. “Hey, that one doesn’t count,” he protested. “Besides, it  _ did _ end up being perfect for you, so I guess I was right in the end.”

“I guess so,” she agreed, grinning. “I know I can trust you, Eugene. I love you, I know you’d never steer me wrong.”

“I love you, too,” he said softly. “Sunshine, I really did mean it the other day when I said that I always want to be by your side. I know you’re going through a lot right now, but I’m always here for you.” 

She thought her heart might burst at that second. She told Cass she wouldn’t tell Eugene what happened the other night, but it was taking all her power not to tell him everything right then and there. She didn’t want to keep this secret (or any secret) from him, and she felt like she was drowning every second she couldn’t tell him. 

She didn’t know how to put any of her thoughts into words, so she pulled him into a kiss and hoped that through it, he would understand everything she wanted to say. She wondered how, even after months of being with him, every time they kissed it felt like her heart going to melt. For a moment, everything that had happened in the past few days seemed to fade away. As long as he was holding her, there was no problem that could ruin their moments together. 

*****

She did have a favorite way around the height difference, though, and she had a sneaking suspicion it was his favorite, too. She figured it out very early on, even before she had really thought about the difference in their height. 

There was a huge celebration when Rapunzel first returned to Corona, and after years alone, she was beyond ecstatic to celebrate with the entire kingdom. Sure, there were a few bumps, but for the most part she felt like she fit right in with everyone. 

Luckily, Eugene was right by her side through all of it. He helped her navigate through what she needed to do in social interactions that she wasn’t used to, and even helped her sneak away when he saw her start to get overwhelmed.

Mostly, though, she was just happy they were together when she was feeling the happiest she had ever felt. She felt really loved, not the surface-level love she felt from Gothel.

She was talking to some citizens of her new kingdom, then as they left she realized that her crown was no longer on her head. She couldn’t help but smile as she turned around and saw Eugene hiding it behind his back.

She lifted her hand to ask for it back, but he moved it out of her reach as she went to grab it. She laughed, grabbing his shirt and dipping him. She rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss him, and he placed her crown back on her head as he returned the kiss.

After a moment, she pulled away and lifted him back up, beaming at him. Eugene grinned back at her. “Blondie, I can’t say anyone’s ever dipped me like that before.”

“Oh, uh, sorry,” she said awkwardly. “Was that not okay? Maybe I should have asked first, I just did it without thinking I guess, I-”

“Hey, hey, no need to apologize,” he interrupted, resting his hand on her cheek. “That was fantastic.”

Her face lit up at his response. “I love you,” she gushed. That was another thing it felt great to say. Being able to tell him that she loved him without it feeling like an obligation or a transaction was a simple thing that felt so freeing. 

“I love you, too, Sunshine.”

“‘Sunshine’?” she repeated, smiling.

He grimaced. “Sorry, is that one of the ones on the ‘Don’t Say That’ list?” 

She had talked with him and her parents about some of the things Gothel would say to her, and which of them would remind her of that. They were helping her understand how the things Gothel said to her were wrong, and that they wouldn’t hurt her like Gothel did.

She quickly shook her head. “No, no, I like Sunshine,” she assured him. “Is it because of the Sun Flower?”

“Well, honestly no,” he said. “It’s because you’re the light of my life, so Sunshine fits pretty well to me.”

She blushed as she felt her heart racing. “Are you always this sappy?” she teased, her smile growing more over her face.

He laughed. “Hey, it’s easy to be sappy when you get to be in love with the most amazing person in the world.”

“I know the feeling,” she giggled, grabbing his shirt and lifting herself on to her toes to kiss him again. 

She wondered, not for the first time (and certainly not the last), how she had ever lived without all of this. Being with her parents and Eugene and all her new friends, she was happier than she thought she could ever be, and she had only been there for a few days. She was still afraid that this was all a dream she would soon wake up from, but she used thoughts like that to inspire herself to live in the moment. 

And at that moment, kissing her Dream surrounded by hundreds of people was exactly the moment she wanted to live in.


End file.
